Door checking and holding device



Oct. 18, 1955 w s 2,720,673

DOOR CHECKING AND HOLDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 1, 1950 RA L PH H. W/SEJNVENTOR.

y ZJKM ATTORNEYS United States Patent "ce 2,720,613

DOOR CHECKING AND HOLDING DEVICE Ralph H. Wise, Wayne, Mich., assignorto Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich., a corporation of DelawareApplication December 1, 1950, Serial No. 198,622

1 Claim. (Cl. 16-82) This invention relates generally to door checkingand holding devices for motor vehicle doors.

An object of the present invention is to provide a door checking andholding device comprising a pair of toggle links pivotally connected toeach other and to the vehicle body and door respectively in such manneras to hold the door in its fully opened position and to assist theintermediate Opening movement of the door while at the same timepermitting the door to be in a neutral unbiased position when fullyclosed. This neutral condition in the closed position of the door ismade possible with the present construction even though spring means areemployed to assist in the intermediate opening movement of the door andin holding the door in its fully opened position. The device comprises apair of interconnected toggle links, one pivotally connected to the bodyand the other pivotally connected to the door, in combination withspring means acting upon the toggle and urging the links from theirclosed to their open position. The toggle links and their pivotalconnections with the body and the door are so arranged that the hingeaxis of the door is substantially in alignment with a line between thepivotal connections of the toggle links to the body and doorrespectively. With this geometrical arrangement, the line of force ofthe spring means passes through the hinge axis of the door and isineffective to swing the door in either direction from its closedposition. Thus there is no force between the door and the body when thedoor is closed nor any force to interfere with the initial openingmovement or final closing movement of the door.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a doorchecking and holding device of the toggle link type mentioned above inwhich the links and their pivotal conections are so arranged that thedoor hinge xis is offset in a predetermined amount from a lineinterconnecting the pivotal connections of the toggle linkage, theoffset being of sufiicient amount to counterbalance the inherenttendency of the door to swing inwardly toward its closed position. Inmany present day motor vehicles the hinge axis between the vehicle bodyand door is inclined laterally inwardly of the vehicle body in an upwarddirection causing the door to have an inherent tendency to swinginwardly. This tendency can be counterbalanced and compensated for bythe arrangement of the present invention so that a door of this typewill be in a neutral unbiased position when closed.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be made moreapparent as this description proceeds, particularly when considered inconnection with the accompanied drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a portion of a vehicledoor and the adjacent body structure, and showing the door checking andholding mechanism in its closed door relationship.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 1 but showing thedoor in its fully opened position.

Patented Oct. 18, 1955 Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view similar toFigure l but showing a slightly different arrangement in which the dooris counterbalanced.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to Figures 1 and 2, thereference character 11 indicates a motor vehicle door hinged to theadjacent body pillar 12 for pivotal movement about a generally verticalhinge axis 13. Conventional hinge means can be used and are not shown inthis drawing. A bracket 14 is secured to the body pillar 12 by means ofbolts 16 and a reinforcing tapped plate 17. The bracket 14 extendsthrough an opening 18 formed in the jamb face 19 of the door 11.

Located inside the door 11 and suitably secured to the inner panel 21thereof is a bracket 22. A toggle comprising a pair of toggle links 23and 24 interconnects the two brackets. The toggle links 23 and 24 arepivotally interconnected by means of a pivot pin 26, and the oppositeends of the toggle links are pivotally connected to the brackets 14 and22 respectively by pivot pins 27 and 28 respectively.

The pin 26 between the two toggle links is mounted upon andnon-rotatably connected to the link 24 and freely passes through anopening in the link 23. The end of the pin is slotted at 29 to receivethe inner end of a spring 30. The spring is coiled around the pin andits outer end is hooked over an ear 31 bent up from the side of link 23.The spring thus applies a force between the links 23 and 24 tending toswing them away from each other around the pivot pin 26.

It will be noted from Figure 1 that the toggle links are so arrangedthat their pivotal connections with the brackets carried by the body andthe door are substantially in alignment with the hinge axis of the doorin the closed position of the latter. Specifically, a line 33 joiningthe pivotal connections 27 and 28 of the toggle links to theirrespective brackets passes through the hinge axis 13 of the door. Thus,although the spring 34 exerts a force tending to separate the togglelinks 23 and 24, this force is inetfective to swing the door from itsclosed position or to cause any force to be exerted between the vehiclebody and the door when the latter is closed, since this force is alongthe line 33 and passes through the hinge axis 13. Consequently, the door11 in its closed position is in a neutral unbiased condition, and thedoor checking and holding device does not interfere with nor affect themanual movement of the door during its initial opening movement orduring its final closing movement.

As the door 11 is swung from its closed position shown in Figure 1 aboutthe hinge axis 13 to its open position shown in Figure 2, the line 33joining the pivotal connections of the toggle links to the door and bodybrackets swings out of alignment with the door hinge axis so that thetoggle spring 3% is efifective through the toggle links to apply anopening torque to the door. This torque is measured by the spring forceapplied along the line 33 and the lever arm or normal from the line 33to the hinge axis 13. In the fully opened position of the door as shownin Figure 2, this torque is at a maximum since the lever arm is thelongest. Although the spring force diminishes slightly as the door isopened, due to the unwinding of the spring 39 as the toggle opens, theincreased lever arm more than oifsets this and results in an everincreasing opening force. In addition, the toggle links 23 and 24 swingrelative to each other from an acute angle relationship when the door isclosed to an obtuse angle relationship when the door is opened and thetoggle holds the door in its open position until the latter is manuallyclosed. Link 24 has a portion 32 extending beyond the pivot pin 26 andterminating in a bent flange 33a adapted to engage one side of the link23 when the door has been fully opened to the stop determining theposition showni'n Figure 2. The flange thus forms a fully'open' positionof the door. While the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2 anddescribed above provides a construction in which .the door is unbiasedin its closed position when the hinge axis.13' of the door issubstantially vertical; in many present day motor vehicles the bodyconstruction is such that the" door hinge axis is inclined laterallyinwardly in an upward direction. This results in a natural tendencyforthe doo r to swing inwardly due to the 'fact that its weight isgradually raised as the door is opened. The construction shown in Figure3 counterbalances this tendency of the door to close so that the door isin a neutral unbiased condition when closed even though its hinge-axisis inclined. It will be noted that in this 'arrangement the pivotalconnection 40' between the toggle 4'13 and the bracket" 42. carried bythe door 43 is shifted slightly so that the line of spring force 44between the pivotal connections 40 and 45 of the two toggle isinotexactly in alignment with the hinge axis 46 of the door but is slightlyoffset therefrom! The spring force along the line 44 is then eflfectivethrough the lever arm extending from the" hinge axis 46 to the line 44to exert an opening torque upon the door, and the amount of offset ispredetermined of such amount 7 that this torquecounterbalances thetendency of the door to swing closed. Thus, this arrangement applies theprinciples of the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2 to a .doorhaving an inclined hinge axis-so that the door may be in a neutralunbiased condition when closed with zero body to. door force. 7

From the foregoing it will be seen that a toggle linkage is providedwhich is effective to hold the door in its fully open position withsuflicient strength to prevent the'closing of the door inadvertently andwith increased assistance being given to the opening of the door aswell'as decreasing resistance to the closing of the door.

' These results are achieved with a construction in which there is nobody to door force in the closed position of the door, the latter beingcompletely counterbalanced and unbiased.

It will beunderstood that the invention is not to be limited tothe exactconstruction shown and described, butthat various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention,- as defined in the appended claim.

7 body pillar and projecting through an opening in the jamb face of thedoor into the interior of the'latter, a second supporting bracket withinsaid door mounted upon the inner panel of said door, a toggle linkpivotally connected at one end to said first bracket, a second togglelink pivotally connected at one end to said second bracket, the pivotalconnections between said toggle links and said brackets being positionedclosely adjacent each 7 other in the closed position of the door andarranged so that a line through said pivotal connections in the closedposition of the door'passes through the hinge axis of the door, saidtoggle links converging toward each other from their pivotal connectionswith said brackets, a pivot pin'fixedl'y'carried by one of said togglelinks near the end thereof remote from its pivotal connection to one ofsaid brackets and' passingthrough an aperture in the adjacent end of theother of said' toggle links to pivotally connect the two togglelinks'together,"

a spiral spring having one end anchored to said' pivot pin and'its otherend anchored to an intermediate portion of the other of said togglelinks between saidpivot pin and the pivotal connection of said othertoggle link to its supporting bracket, said spiral spring constantlyexerting a force tending to swing said toggle links apart about saidpivot pin but inoperative in the closed position of the door to exert anopening or closing force on the door since the line of force throughthe" said pivotal connections of said toggle links to said bracketspasses through the hinge axis of the door.

References Gited inthe file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PA'IENTS

